Climate and society students seek a common language between science and policy – ​​the state of the earth

Before joining the MA Climate and Society program, Lina Maria Villegas worked as a military and contract linguist for many years, learning a completely new language and culture – an experience that awakened her curiosity about the world and brought her back and returned to the school’s geography science. University of Maryland.

Now, Vegas is studying another language, namely environmental policy and climate science. She also serves as Vice President of Internal Affairs for the Columbia Climate Student Government and a member of the Student Leadership Engagement Program. She is currently a research assistant at NASA’s Climate Change Research Program, working with CUNY to help describe urban ground temperatures in New York City. Read more about Villegas’ cyclone journey in the climate school in the Q&A below.

Tell us a little bit about how you are interested in climate space.

In elementary school, I remember talking about electricity and little things to be aware of in the auditorium, such as putting light in the room when you walk away, or turning water off while brushing your teeth. I became a small environmentalist in our home – paying attention to everyone around me and turning off all the lights. Since then, I have become more and more aware of the different ways in which our actions have impacted the world around us.

Eight years ago, I started carrying a reusable water bottle with me. When I see friends and colleagues holding plastic water bottles, sometimes I ask them if they have considered switching to reusable water bottles without any judgment or make anyone feel bad about their choices. Most of them would refuse. I would say, ‘Well, if you think about it, you use at least one water bottle every day, with a constant amount of X. I’ve been carrying it for eight years. Multiply it by a water bottle every day and think about how much you can save if you switch. ”

Do you think personal climate action has made a difference?

The podcast I’ve heard a while ago talks about debates between small and large actions, individual actions and corporate entities, are we actually making a difference? It argues for both sides. What attracted me the most was that our actions might be a drop of water, but the water can have a chain reaction. I, carrying a water bottle, have a conversation with friends and colleagues – I know a group of people who have made small changes to this. It creates this vast community of consciousness. You don’t know how far it can go.

What led you to this recognition from climate research?

For the longest time, I don’t know what I want to learn. I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian, but I lost the scholarship I didn’t want to owe. So I joined the army. I think I’ll get some exposure there and see the life I want to pursue. Otherwise I will pay my school, so win-win. I worked as a linguist in the military for six years, and a contractor for another one and a half years.

But I was upset and not achieved. I decided to follow my passion for environmentalism. I initially went to the University of Maryland (UMD) for environmental science, but found that chemistry and mathematics were much more to do than I wanted. Geographic science, on the other hand, doesn’t touch on that and also has a map that I’ve always loved.

I have a visiting lecturer at UMD who happens to be an alumnus of Columbia Climate School. I heard about all the amazing things the school does and I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

How does your background and experience affect your path to climate school?

The language I learned is Pashtu from Afghanistan. It hasn’t been widely used, so I haven’t been able to practice much since then, but I love the language, people, culture and experience I have. Learning a completely new language and culture, which I have never really seen before, has expanded my horizons, and my love for learning and curiosity is really getting bigger there.

As an undergraduate, I also have the opportunity to study abroad in Copenhagen. The course is climate change and Arctic ecosystems. We understand how different ecosystems in the Arctic interact, their status quo and how they are affected by climate change. Part of this course is also learning how to generate our own research. We had to go to Greenland for two weeks. I never thought a girl from Miami, Florida would be in Greenland for her whole life. The whole experience was great and I got a lot from my field work. That summer, in 2022, I visited my friends in France. It’s the middle of the heat wave without air conditioning and then compared it to Greenland, it does show me how much changes have happened around the world and how different the prepared area is.

Do you want to get out of your master’s degree in climate and society?

One thing I realized when I was at UMD was the strong disconnect between science and policy. Scientists found these things here, and politicians made decisions there. However, there are not many bridges between the two, or at best, fragile. I want to fill this space to help generate more green opportunities in the future. Knowing that urban population will increase to 70% by 2050 compared to the current 50%, I also consider the possible impact of more sustainable policies on people entering these spaces and those who already exist.

In my first class at climate school, we discussed “learning the structure of a system is the best way to influence changes in that system”. I’m so glad to know all of this because that’s not something I’ve been exposed to before. I’m happy to work with Lisa Sachs on climate investment and policy and try to look at the “evil” problems we face today and possible solutions. I also want to learn from other students with amazing backgrounds. So far, I have a little starlight on what everyone can do in my life.

I think that in the climate space, I need to have a positive outlook or I can’t continue to do that. I call myself a forced optimist. I can’t believe we’ve reached the limit and reached the critical point, and there’s no way back. I have to move forward and see what I can do and how to help others do what they need to do.